Vandalism Mars Park, Strains Workers

BRISTOL — As the city pumps millions of dollars into restoring Rockwell Park, vandals seem determined to mar the 100-acre centerpiece of Bristol's park system.

Just a few weeks ago, vandals with spray paint marred the walls of the Rockwell's empty pool with yard-high graffiti. And every few weekends, people are kicking the spokes out of railings and smashing the decorative, wrought iron lights along the paths within Rockwell.

With just 17 workers to maintain 700 acres of parkland around the city, Swicklas' department is losing time it needs to prepare everything from flower beds and softball fields for the busy spring and summer seasons.

City leaders have joined Swicklas in asking park visitors along with homeowners near Rockwell to call police when they spot vandalism.

Police ask anyone who sees vandalism there or knows who was responsible for the previous damage to call them at 860-584-3000.

Swicklas and his staff are frustrated by the waste of money: Each time someone breaks out the glass of a decorative lamp, the city spends more than $200 for replacement parts and bulbs, along with the expense of dispatching a bucket truck to lift an employee to reach the damaged bulb. And that employee is forced to take time away from regular maintenance, so by the end of the day some regularly scheduled work at Rockwell or another city park has been left undone.

The city had planned to repaint the Rockwell pool before opening it for the season, but the graffiti may take an extra coat to cover. Also, Swicklas anticipates his crews will work hours to scrub the paint off stainless steel at the top edge of the pool. The cleanup bill will be at least $1,000, not including the lost hours of workers' time.

"Then there'll be paper on the ground in Brackett Park and people say 'How come you're letting it get like that?' - this is why, we had to pull guys off of other jobs to fix this," he said.

The direct expense for park vandalism across the city is more than $20,000, Swicklas estimated. In the past year, a few of the worse incidents included a burned portable toilet at Rockwell Park, smashed spindles in the Federal Hill Green gazebo, tires and old furniture dumped down a steep embankment at Rockwell, broken windows at Page Park's pavilion and a smashed slide and handicapped-accessible play area at Page Park.

Contact Don Stacom at dstacom@courant.com.

Visit www.courant.com/vandalism for video of the vandalism in Bristol.